What the Hell Is This? The Atmosphere Trembles
The atmosphere trembled. The world was weeping.
People everywhere looked up at the sound pounding against their eardrums. Their gazes followed the spot where Tol had been sucked upward. Looking up at the sky, all they could see was pitch-black darkness. It had clearly been blue just moments ago.
Yet strangely, even though the sky had turned completely overcast, the ground below hadn't grown any darker.
Next came an incomprehensible sound. A resonance of mana that filled the air, beyond the grasp of ordinary perception.
"W-what the hell is going on?"
The clown muttered softly, unable to comprehend what was happening. Seizing the opening, Baek Sung-jun and Cheon Ji-yoon charged in, swinging their swords.
Baek Sung-jun, as if he'd been saving his strength for this exact moment, unleashed it all in one explosive burst, hammering the bastard with his shield. From behind, Cheon Ji-yoon gripped her Light Sword tightly and slashed diagonally.
"Gaaargh!!"
"You fucking clown! Bet that was fun for you earlier, huh?! Now it's my turn to have some fun!"
Thwack, thwack-thwack-thwack.
With the clown unable to move properly after being sliced by Cheon Ji-yoon's sword, Baek Sung-jun dropped his shield and sword, pummeling him to subdue the guy. His fists flew in a dazzling flurry, pounding every inch of the clown, and Cheon Ji-yoon quickly backed off a few steps from Baek Sung-jun's frenzy.
"Subdue this bastard!"
After beating on him for a while, Baek Sung-jun yelled, sweat dripping down his face. Hunters with binding skills rushed over and restrained him.
Watching the scene, Cheon Ji-yoon dashed to the opposite side before anyone could speak to her. The ringleaders responsible for this mess had been subdued by her and the other hunters. But monsters still remained. They weren't moving due to the demons' control, but it looked like that control would break soon, so she figured they'd take care of them first.
Other hunters followed behind her. Whoever she was, she wielded tremendous power and had taken down the Red Mark in one go—a knight in white armor. And hadn't she been the one who handled the summoner's monsters at Hunter Way just recently?
"Gaaazuaaa—!!"
"Wipe 'em all out—!! This is our country—we protect it—!!"
The hunters roared cheers as they charged after Cheon Ji-yoon. Running at the front, she thought to herself.
Being a hunter really is a tough job.
She finally understood why they got paid so much.
* * *
He observed. He peered in, delved deeper.
Behind Cheon Ji-hoo's back floated a black backdrop and blue eyes. It wasn't a deity, but an ancient creation designed to mimic divine power through magic. The Sage's Pupil.
The eye of a god meant to pierce through principles and essences. A spell designed by ancient mages craving omniscience and omnipotence, completed by Cheon Ji-hoo.
And now, he had gained a fragment of omniscience.
The pupil's gaze fixed on Tol, the servant of the self-proclaimed Demon King of Dark Clouds. The gaze spilling from the eye turned to mana. It became a flow that scrutinized Tol completely, revealing through the Sage's Pupil the form of his existence.
Then.
"Fr-from Amphelon, I... I am Tol, faithful servant of the... Demon King of Si-Silence..."
The creature opened its mouth. Cheon Ji-hoo listened quietly to its words.
"The De-Demons, the Demon Kings... they will descend. The six hundred sixty-six sh-shattered Demon Kings..."
666 Demon Kings. Watching the thing spill information so easily, it matched what he'd seen through the Sage's Pupil.
He examined the connection to the 'Demon King of Silence' that Tol spoke of. As before, it wasn't deep. A guy who couldn't even claim a legion commander's seat in the Demon King's army...
"One of the 666 fragments of the Demon King?"
"The Demon King... will come. The Demon King."
Tol's complexion worsened dramatically. Cheon Ji-hoo clicked his tongue, withdrawing the Sage's Pupil and pressing a finger to its forehead. The creature's deteriorating state improved somewhat.
This was the Demon King's curse. They called it a baptism, but what kind of baptism melted brains for spilling secrets? Being close to divine authority, all he could do was delay it temporarily.
His final question.
"Where is the Demon King?"
"The Demon King... is everywhere, in the cr-cracks..."
Cracks. Did it mean rifts? Right after Tol answered, his face twisted again, and he slumped lifelessly. His brain had melted, killing him.
Cheon Ji-hoo released the nape of his neck and snapped his fingers. The two magic circles rotating above Tol's head overlapped, erupting in brilliant flames that incinerated his entire body without a trace.
A dead demon was useless. No way to revive it either.
As Tol's body crumbled to a handful of ash, he deployed Clairvoyance and looked down below. Peering through the clouds, he saw Cheon Ji-yoon and the hunters mopping up the remnants.
It was about time. He raised his hand, and a massive crow surged from behind his back. Flapping its enormous wings, the crow positioned itself under him, letting him mount before diving toward the ground.
Time to wrap things up.
* * *
The monster wave heading from Pocheon toward the government offices ended in a decisive victory for the hunters. Casualties on the hunter side were virtually zero. Thanks to the S-ranks and the white-armored knight's efforts, the only injuries were minor ones the healers could handle—no fatalities.
A resounding triumph.
But the mood in the command tent, where the three S-ranks, the Association President, and the white-armored knight (who wasn't sure why she was there) had gathered to wrap up the incident, was far from celebratory.
"I'll be straight with you. I've turned off my phone."
The Association President said.
"We took care of all the reporters, but somehow they must've spotted it from some observatory or whatever—overseas contacts are flooding in. These crazy bastards are even using the hotline."
Hunter associations around the world maintained close ties, sharing information. Association Presidents had direct hotlines for straight-line communication. Yet here they were, blowing up those emergency channels over just one glimpse of what Cheon Ji-hoo had done.
Hong Ji-hwa thought it was justified. Even witnessing it firsthand, she could hardly believe it. She'd thought disaster when that guy with the weird forehead marking gathered his energy, but a massive water jet surged up and erased it without a trace. Plus, it left the stunned S-rank villain 'Clown' half-crippled for capture.
"...Haa."
The Association President let out a long sigh. He'd tried not to ruffle feathers or let it leak out as much as possible. But damn, he'd been given one hell of a show.
Hong Ji-hwa spoke up.
"Just go public with it, Association President."
"...You think?"
He replied in a weary voice to her question. Hiding and agonizing like this—might as well rip the bandage off and feel better. His mind was that chaotic.
"That seems like the better play to me too."
Baek Sung-jun agreed, and the other S-rank nodded as well. It was going to get out anyway. With so many witnesses, even if they suppressed it, two months was the max.
The Association President weighed the fallout costs. Then he glanced at Cheon Ji-yoon, standing silently with arms crossed, and asked.
"By the way, who are you?"
"...".
Cheon Ji-yoon didn't answer. Honestly, at seventeen, it was hard for her to even grasp what was going on. She vaguely knew her brother was ridiculously strong, but today's display... it was godlike. Even the sword spirit had been trembling in fear.
So she just turned her head and stared quietly at the Association President. Her helmet covered her entire face, leaving only her eyes visible.
The Association President closed his eyes and bowed his head politely.
"Thank you for your assistance, nameless hunter."
I'm not a hunter.
Cheon Ji-yoon thought in retort but bowed back and turned away.
Having finished his calculations, the Association President spoke.
"For now, keep today's events under wraps, and tomorrow a proper article will come out... haa."
"Association President?"
Hong Ji-hwa said. He slowly turned, tilting his head in confusion, and she continued.
"You should look to your side."
He had no idea what she meant. Come to think of it, everyone's expressions were odd. Hong Ji-hwa was straight-faced but twitching her eyebrow; Baek Sung-jun and the other S-rank were pressing their lips tight, blinking rapidly.
As she suggested, he slowly turned his head to the side.
There sat a familiar face. White hair, long locks. Blue eyes and an inhumanly beautiful appearance.
Cheon Ji-hoo was there.
"H-heek!"
Even the Association President couldn't help jolting back a couple steps with a weird yelp. Cheon Ji-hoo spoke.
"I'm here to notify you."
"Notify?"
"Yes. Talk about me however you want."
Cheon Ji-hoo said. Let the media stew in their own pot, boiled or grilled. And unlike his usual tone, it was imperious. No one dared think of objecting amid that aura.
Cheon Ji-yoon froze at the unfamiliar vibe from him.
"I know you've been controlling information about me up till now. Even the surveillance. I let that arrogant nonsense slide because there were no threats to me or my sister."
He stomped lightly. Intense mana began filling the tent, turning it into a sealed chamber.
As the tent became airtight, the hunters and Association President felt suffocation and fear together. It was like being stared down by unyielding predator eyes from every direction.
"But things have changed."
Cheon Ji-hoo raised his hand, and magic circles appeared above their heads, pouring information about the Demon King directly into their minds. Data on the avatars of the Demon God, who once split the continent and waged war against humanity. A forceful method to make them understand quickly.
Seizing the moment as the four—excluding Cheon Ji-yoon—grimaced from the influx, he continued.
"I am Cheon Ji-hoo, Archmage of Dawn and Descent. Bringer of daybreak, weaver of sunsets. Harm me or my sister, or obstruct my actions, and you will circulate eternally along the veins of mana."
This was a solemn warning. From the great mage who once spanned the world, to the culprits.
"And cooperate. If humanity doesn't unite, the Demon King will devour the world in an instant. This concerns the fate of all mankind."
He snapped his fingers. The mana enveloping the tent receded.
The hunters and Association President gasped for breath, their minds imprinted with info on Demon Kings and demons.
Cheon Ji-hoo glanced at them once more. Demon Kings and demons. The rifts were surely involved in their emergence. When something alien intrudes on the world, the flow distorts. Hunters' awakenings too.
Everything has a reason. Magic is no different. The discipline where causes produce results.
Before the hunters could ask anything, Cheon Ji-hoo extended his hand. A crow burst from the shadows, flying to perch on Cheon Ji-yoon's shoulder. Understanding his intent, she left the tent with the crow, which then flapped away.
Finally, before deploying Teleportation, Cheon Ji-hoo said.
"Calculate the reward for handling this monster wave yourselves and deposit it. For me and that white knight."
Settling accounts properly.